Verdict in Apple-Samsung trial may echo through tech industry [THE NEW YORK TIMES]

But the effects of the case are likely to be felt far beyond these two companies. If Apple prevails, experts believe Samsung and other rivals in the market will have a much stronger incentive to distinguish their smartphone and tablet products with unique features and designs to avoid further legal tangles.

“I think what we’ll see is a diversification of designs in the marketplace if Apple wins,” said Christopher V. Carani, an intellectual property lawyer for McAndrews, Held & Malloy in Chicago.

What WSJ got wrong about Groupon [FORTUNE]

I’m not exactly sure why Andreessen Horowitz selling the shares is a negative, given that it booked a $14 million profit off of its $40 million investment. Not a venture home-run, but not terrible for an 18-20 month hold. And I’m pretty sure that generating positive returns is a venture capitalist’s primary job responsibility (not tech cheer-leading, although it’s an easily forgiven error).

Apple is now the most valuable company of all time [CNNMONEY]

It’s a stunning achievement for a company that was a struggling also-ran when Microsoft was setting records in the late 1990s. Apple was valued at less than $10 billion as recently as 2004, and at $100 billion just three years ago.

James Franco and the Galaxy Note 10.1: jacks of all trades, masters of none [THE VERGE]

The new ad for Samsung (which the actor apparently also directed) plays up Franco’s growing reputation as a man of many talents by showing off the multitasking features of the tablet, which accepts both touch and pen input. Just as Apple’s Siri ads show celebrities having flawless experiences with the voice assistant, Samsung’s Note performs far more quickly and responsively than we observed in our review of the device. Movie magic, right?

Ethernet’s future: How fast is fast enough? [CNET]

But don’t expect to find the new speed option on your next computer’s feature list. The standard, to be produced by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), will likely reach data-transfer speeds between 400 gigabits per second and 1 terabit per second. For comparison, that latter speed would be enough to copy two-and-a-half full-length Blu-ray movies in a second.